Tuesday, May 22, 2018

WHAT’S IN A NAME

So, what are some of your favorite character names? Today's Top Ten Tuesday is Best Character Names.
I actually had to search to find ten. I like unusual names, hence why my children's names are spelled so differently and to this day can't find one souvenir with their name on it. I attempted to choose names from 2018 reads but I had to go back a few years to get ten.

Liberty and Blaze from ...

Willow and Corbin from...

Chloe, and Hamilton from...

Eliyana from...

Wilhelmina and Edgar from . . .

Permilia and Asher from . . .

Lillian and Archer from . . .

Morrow and Red Shirt from . . .

Temperance (Tempe) and Sion from . . .

And one of my absolute favorite character names.

Cole "Tox" Russell from . . .

Are any of your favorite character names in my list? Let me know yours in the comments.

Monday, May 21, 2018

What Does Prayer Look Like? . . .
Find out in The Prayer Map for Women.

This engaging prayer journal is a fun and creative way for you to more fully experience the power of prayer. Each page features a lovely 2-color design that guides you to write out specific thoughts, ideas, and lists. . .which then creates a specific "map" for you to follow as you talk to God. Each map includes a spot to record the date, so you can look back on your prayers and see how God has worked in your life. The Prayer Map for Women will not only encourage you to spend time talking with God about the things that matter most. . .it will also help you build a healthy spiritual habit of continual prayer for life!

I like this book on a lot of levels. Each day spans two pages with spots for personal prayer, thanksgiving, writing out worries, who you're praying for, needs, and a verse for each day. Each section are great prompts to encourage personal prayer life. I do like that each day spans two pages.
The colors are bright and inviting. The size of the journal is perfect for tucking in your bag to take with you.

My only dislike is that each section doesn't give much space for writing more than a few lines.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Barbour Publishing. I was not required to write a review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Trust is such a small word in our vocabulary, but it carries with it a huge meaning. The Webster's Dictionary defines Trust as . . .

1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or somethingb : one in which confidence is placed2 a : dependence on something future or contingent : hopeb : reliance on future payment for property (such as merchandise) delivered : credit bought furniture on trust3 a : a property interest held by one person for the benefit of anotherb : a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement; especially : one that reduces or threatens to reduce competition4 a : care, custody the child committed to her trustb (1) : a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship (2) : something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of anotherc : responsible charge or office5 archaic : trustworthiness
Assured reliance on the character of someone, one in which confidence is placed, and dependence on someone is in my opinion what happens when we as an individual decide to let someone into our personal space, are vulnerable, our true self. This definitely happens when we marry someone, at least for me it does. It also happens when we

The problem with trust is that it can be broken and when it's broken it cuts, and cuts deep. I don't trust easily anymore. I used to trust so easy I was gullible and very naive. I think a lot of my naivety was because I was raised in church, with parents who kept me and my brother very protected so we stayed pretty innocent. I think my brother saw more junk as he grew up than I did. Which was probably more choice than true exposure.

When the reality of my former husband's betrayal became reality my belief system was really rocked to it's core. I didn't know what was true or what wasn't. For about a year I found out a lie nearly everyday which sounds like a lot, but this was 23 years of marriage that had just ended. It was pretty amazing to me how scriptures on truth, and faith flooded to my mind almost instantly.

John 8:32 And you will know the truth and it will set you free. NLT

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. NIV

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. NIV

Camping on verses about His truth, not mine, really helped me see that He is my only truth! It has also helped me to allow Him to choose who I can trust instead of relying on my own feelings whether good or bad. Since our feelings can fluctuate with the weather using them to guide our trust-o-meter isn't a good thing. I can feel as though someone is trustworthy one minute and the next question it. Leaving it up to Him is the best way for me to not be an emotional roller coaster. Dealing with broken trust and betrayal has to be one of the hardest things we deal with as humans but relying on Him and who He says He is and we are makes the junk of this world a lot easier.

She's the Only Witness to a Wagon Train Attack. Keeping Her Safe, Though, Means His World Is about to be Turned Upside Down.

When Trace Riley finds the smoldering ruins of a small wagon train, he recognizes an attack by the same group who left him as sole survivor years ago. Living off the wilderness since then, he's finally carved out a home and started a herd--while serving as a self-appointed guardian of the trail. He'd hoped the days of driving off dangerous men were over, but the latest attack shows otherwise.

Deborah Harkness saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack, and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace becomes an accidental guardian when he offers the only shelter for miles around and agrees to take them in until they can safely continue their journey. His simple bachelor existence never anticipated kids and women in the picture and their arrival is unsettling--yet enticing.

Trace and Deborah find themselves drawing ever closer as they work together to bring justice to the trail and help the group survive the winter--but every day closer to spring means a day closer to leaving the mountains forever.

Mary Connealy writes "romantic comedies with cowboys" and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She has more than half a million books in print. She is the author of the popular series Wild at Heart, Kincaid Brides, Trouble in Texas, Lassoed in Texas, Sophie's Daughters, and many other books. Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero.

This is a great first book to a new series. There aren't as many laugh out loud moments that I have come to know in a Mary Connealy novel. I love books with kids in them and there is an adorable little girl in the book who assists in creating some cute moments. Trace Riley is a perfect hero, and the cast of characters that Ms. Connealy adds to the story round it out well.My Bottom Line:This latest book by Mary Connealy is a sweet and lighthearted read. It sets up the next book in the series perfectly. The characters are real and engaging. I found myself thinking about them long after I closed the book.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

It's FRIDAY!!!! Yay!!! I've really been looking forward to the weekend and some time to just be and enjoy a good book. How about you?

My dear friend, Julie Lessman has a new book releasing on Saturday, May 19th so I thought I'd feature her upcoming release for First Line Friday.

About the book:

She tampers with his life.
He tampers with her heart.
Love tampers with them both.
Desperate to escape an arranged marriage to a womanizer, twenty-two-year-old Maggie Mullaney flees New York for Virginia City, Nevada with her Aunt Liberty, two spunky suffragists intent on bettering the life of women. Fresh out of nursing school, Maggie hopes to devote herself to serving others rather than just one man, a goal quickly affirmed when she encounters Blaze Donovan, a womanizing cowboy who both riles and rouses her pulse. But when Aunt Liberty’s parent’s house burns down, she and Maggie are coerced into staying at the ranch of Liberty’s ex-husband, Finn McShane, who just happens to be the uncle of the cocky cowboy Maggie had hoped to avoid.
If there’s one thing twenty-nine-year-old Blaze Donovan can’t abide, it’s respectable women who spout piety and prayer, so when he butts heads with perky Maggie Mullaney at St. Mary Louise Hospital, he wants to stay as far away from her as he possibly can. Unfortunately, she now lives in the bedroom next to his in his uncle’s ranch house, a revolting development that sends Blaze to The Ponderosa Saloon more than usual. But when Maggie interferes in Blaze’s life by converting his favorite “disrespectable” girl, Blaze is determined to make her pay. Only problem is—the price HE has to pay may be a little too steep for his heart.

Sweet chorus of angels --- pinch me! Palms to the windowsill, twenty-two-year-old Maggie Mullaney leaned out the back window of St. Mary Louise Hospital's hallway, drinking in the heady scent of freedom and pine.

What's your first line? Leave it in the comments and then go to Hoarding Books for more first line fun.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is books you disliked/hated but are glad you read even for bragging rights. I can't think of one book that would fit that category so, in true rebel style I looked at Broke and the Bookish's list and found a topic I've not done, books I read before I started blogging.

In the late 80's I stopped reading Danielle Steel novels because they were pretty much identical, and there wasn't much on the Inspirational fiction scene that I could find so Frank Peretti and Oprah's Book Club kept me in books until more and more Inspirational fiction found its way to my local bookstore or library.

What books did you read before you started blogging? I'd love to hear about them, tell me in the comments.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

When prosecutor Sophie Dawson is the lone witness to a gang-related double homicide, her world is turned upside down. Private security guard Cooper Knight is hired to protect Sophie from the gang, but she's more concerned about prosecuting her latest case than the threat to her life. Sophie wants to stand for what's right, but can Cooper keep her safe?

Rachel Dylan writes Christian fiction including inspirational romantic suspense for Love Inspired Suspense and the Windy Ridge Legal Thriller series. Rachel has practiced law for almost a decade and enjoys weaving together legal and suspenseful stories. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five furkids--two dogs and three cats. Rachel loves to connect with readers. You can find Rachel at www.racheldylan.com.

My Thoughts:

Out of the two books in this series this is my favorite so far. Ms. Dylan really showed more of the inner workings of being a lawyer, and the court process. I got a bird's eye view of Sophie more in this book.

The inspirational thread is not overwhelming but is definitely there. Both Sophie and Cooper are struggling with faith. Ms. Dylan shows the struggle and does not shy away from it.

My Bottom Line:

From beginning to end this book is suspenseful, intriguing, with twists and turns that kept me guessing literally up to the last page. I loved seeing the inner workings of life as a prosecutor and the day to day life of trial inside and outside of the courtroom.